you see them long trains runnin' and you watch them disappear

I had an extremely lazy day, which means I accomplished what I planned to do today, which was nothing. I got up around nine and stayed in my pajamas until four, if that tells you anything. But it was a perfect day for relaxing, since it was gloomy outside and I had no obligations.

I did spend some quality time playing with fountain pens and journaling and planning. I also ate a v. tasty Cobb salad. And I did a bit of laundry and other house work, but not enough to feel burdened. I think I'll need more structure for my time off so I don't squander it, but squandering today was fine by me.

Eventually, I showered, ran an errand, and then went to my parents' house. My mom made an excellent roast, which my dad unfortunately couldn't eat due to his ongoing taste bud issues. But [censored] and mom and I enjoyed it, so at least it didn't go to waste. Then I came back to my place, although my trip was more than doubled because I had to wait for a train, which was v. long and moving slowly and so took almost seven minutes to clear the crossing. My house is almost as close to my parents' house as it can be (it's a mile away, but there are v. few houses between here and there), but you have to cross the railroad someplace, so every once in awhile it's a challenge.

Now, though, I should sleep - I talked to [censored] for a bit, and then I curled up in bed with a book called PEAK MIND. I heard the author (a neuroscience professor) on a Brené Brown podcast while driving home last weekend, and since I like neuroscience and also am suffering from some extreme lack of ability to concentrate, I thought this book might be up my alley. So far it's super interesting and I'm also mildly able to concentrate on it, so hopefully it stays good.

And now, it's really time to sleep - goodnight!

how did it end up like this

I'm officially done with work for the next eight weeks! I have one more task to do tomorrow and one more email to send, but otherwise I'm completely closed out. This required quite a bit of slogging today, but I'm glad I'm done - I'm so ready for a break, and I'm hoping that break will help my brain to reset after a v stressful period of my life.

So, today was a slog, but I got up early enough to cook some chicken and bacon and boil some eggs and chop some stuff so that I could have a cobb salad for lunch, which was a delight. Lunch wasn't until almost three p.m., which was less of a delight. But I got through all my meetings, sent a million emails, crossed many things off my list, etc.

I took a break for an early dinner in town with [censored] and a friend/former coworker of his who stopped by to say hi - we had met in DC several years ago, so it was nice to see her again. The restaurant was hopping, so it took a little longer than usual, but it was still fast and tasty. Then, I took takeout to my parents' house and said hi to them before coming back to my place, where I ignored [censored] so I could do another couple of hours of work. And then I was done, and I journaled a bit, and now I'm avoiding going to bed even though bed is exactly what I need. So, I'm going to head in that direction - goodnight!

waiting for things to get better

Today was another long slog, but the light is at the end of the tunnel - by this time tomorrow, I should be fully wrapped up and ready to shut down my corporate laptop for eight weeks. This is assuming, of course, that I can get through the remaining things on my to-do list, but I have some faith that I'll get through it all.

So, since I did nothing but work today (and accept some cupcakes from my mom at lunch, and go out to my parents' for dinner, and then greet [censored] when he showed up at my house tonight), I have v. little to report. Bed seems like a more valid path than trying to come up with something to write tonight, so it's time to go to sleep - goodnight!

feels a lot like settling

The slog to the finish line is real - I had meetings almost straight from 9:30 to 6:30, with a small break somewhere in there to make a sandwich. Luckily, other meetings ended at appropriate times to check on my dad, who v. graciously showed up to mow my yard (which will keep me from getting run out of town by any neighbors who were accustomed to Marvin's previous diligence at yardwork). Unluckily, I had to cancel on going to a meeting of the club that I'm in with my mom (I am obviously not a v. diligent member, since I don't actually live here and so haven't gone in years). But with only two work days left, I felt the need to eat supper and then keep slogging tonight.

And I could probably slog even more - but I'm going to go to bed, since sleep is probably more necessary. Goodnight!

to hell with timing, is it easier to bite your tongue

No blog tonight - I have three days left at work before I go on leave, and possibly three weeks of work to do before that happens. Today was good, though - I got a scrap of writing done before I started work, and my dad showed up at some point with some chicken that had almost literally fallen off the back of a truck (I only kept eight pounds of the eighty pounds he showed up with, so others in town were the beneficiaries of his good nature and also his free chicken). And, I went to my parents' house for supper, where I made salmon and mashed potatoes to go with the first asparagus of the year, and it was all pretty tasty.

However, I need to slog pretty excessively tomorrow, so it's time for bed - goodnight!

stare at the chemtrails

I should have gone to bed an hour ago, but I had a bunch of work that I wanted to get done tonight, and it unfortunately didn't seem to be doing itself. Today was fine, though - I got up and wrote just a tiny bit before work, which was exactly what I needed. Then I slogged all day, talked to Alyssa, and then went out to my parents' house for supper. My mom made a pork roast, which was v. tasty, and I spent some time hanging out and chatting, so that was all nice. It's also nice that it's staying light later, since I can stay for supper and chat after and still get home before dark.

And now, I am going to stop staring at this screen and unwind / go to bed - goodnight!

day off in kyoto

I'm safely ensconced in ye olde Iowa, where I arrived yesterday after battling extreme wind the entire way. Yesterday wasn't as bad as Friday night, but it still wasn't the most pleasant drive, and I was v. glad to be done with it (and to be rewarded with bratwurst when I got to my parents' house).

Today, I mostly just settled in - which involved unpacking while also contemplating the million and one things I want to do to this house. [Censored] was here this weekend, and so we also did some cleanup of various tings in the garage and picked up most of the sticks in my yard (nowhere near the thousands of sticks [censored] and my mom picked up at my parents' place after the tornado, but still enough to be a chore). I also went to the grocery store so that I can feed myself this week, which is a noble goal.

Eventually, I went to my parents' house, where I hung out for awhile and eventually made them dinner. I made my favorite spaghetti all'amatriciana (bacon, red onion, red pepper flakes, tomato sauce) and I was really happy with how it turned out. I left out the usual garlic bc my dad is having taste bud issues and I thought garlic might not help; I also cut the spice level in half, which was still tasty. Unfortunately my dad couldn't stand the bacon (his taste buds are on a trip to somewhere horrible, apparently), but he ate around it, which I'll take as a moderate success. And my mom claimed to like it, but she would like anything that she didn't have to cook. Still, 💯 would make again, as they say on the socials.

After supper, I came back to my place and spent the last couple of hours unpacking and organizing so that I can work tomorrow without having to search for things. And now I need to sleep - goodnight! 

said i'm living all alone inside a dream

I successfully loaded my car this morning and got to work in time to start my day at my usual time, which felt like a minor miracle. I slogged pretty well until mid afternoon, and then I snuck out to start heading east. I wanted to get to Kearney or Lincoln tonight, but the winds were absolutely insane - there were high wind warnings all along my drive, and I saw trucks in the ditches and other trucks swerving around on the interstate. It was also unpleasant for me to drive in, since the blowing dirt was causing occasional whiteouts/brownouts.

So, I ended up calling it quits at North Platte, since I got here just before dark and didn't want to keep going if visibility got even worse. And that meant I had dinner at Ruby Tuesday instead of living in Cheetos, so that was probably a good call.

Now I need to sleep and hope the wind dies down and also hope I don't get any hail damage from whatever storm will inevitably happen tonight - it was 90+ degrees alongside these 60mph winds, which felt pretty apocalyptic, and the dropping temps are a warning sign for thunderstorms. Wish me luck - goodnight!

I'm fallin' so I'm taking my time on my ride

I wanted to go to bed two hours ago, but I also wanted to finish packing so that I can leave for work in the morning and then head straight towards Iowa from the office. I was pretty successful - I have to load my car, but it seems doable.

Today was great overall, though - I spent a lot of it socializing, since I had a group lunch with my new boss (and, amusingly, one of my many old bosses) and a v. long happy hour after work. And, burying the lede....I told my team today that I'm taking two months off starting at the end of next week. I've been beyond burned out for a long time, and it's really clear that I'm generally struggling to concentrate or motivate myself or handle stress with my usual sang froid. And even though my situation at work is finally (after three years of complete chaos and seven managers) getting better, I need a break if I'm going to do seize anything positive with those changes.

So, I got my leave all confirmed, told my team, and promptly went to a work happy hour. It was eighty degrees today and we hung out on the roof at Rosetta Hall - it opened just before the pandemic and I hadn't been, but it was a delight. I lounged on a deep couch and talked to many people and generally got in the "I'm going on leave" mood even though I still have a week left. It was a nice way to end the day, even if I didn't get home until almost nine.

And now, I really need to sleep so I can get my car loaded before work tomorrow- goodnight!

good girls justify but I don't

I'm v. unusually writing this from the Hotel Boulderado, where I've checked in for the night because I had a late work engagement and have to be at work early tomorrow and didn't want to drive home in between. I worked from home today, which was a delight, and it enabled me to spend some time after work dealing with three bags of mulch in my garage that had developed a bug infestation. That wasn't glamorous, but it was necessary, and I'm glad I got rid of it before heading to Iowa this weekend.

Eventually, I had to drive to Boulder - dinner was scheduled for eight p.m., which is criminally late after the last two years of early bird specials in my house. However, the quality made up for it - my new boss (a VP) took me and another person to Frasca, which is prob one of the nicest restaurants in Colorado. Unfortunately for me, the seasonality of the menu meant that almost everything has asparagus in it, which not my fave. But the asparagus risotto that I chose for my second course was actually lovely, and I ate around the asparagus that came with my chicken and morels. So, I quite enjoyed it, and it was a v. expensive way the get back on the corporate expense dole after two years without work events 

Then I walked back to my hotel, chilled a bit, and realized I'd be best served by going to bed. Goodnight!

something just like this

I very nearly didn't go into the office today, but eventually my strong need to do my duty + my strong desire for free eggs and hashbrowns overrode my nearly-equally-strong desire to stay in my sweats and work on my couch. So, I made it into the office with just enough time to grab the aforementioned eggs and hashbrowns (and some bacon) before my first meeting. I then slogged all day before ending around five. And then I emptied my trunk of three packages (to be returned via the mailroom), two bags of shredding (shredding has fallen by the wayside in the panny), and a bag of old electronics equipment belonging to my employer that had ended up in a box of dead plants that was delivered to me from my 'desk'. Given how many keyboards / mice there were, I don't think it was just my desk, but whatever.

Then I drove back to Denver and took myself out for dinner at Blue Pan - I was deeply in the mood for pizza, and it was eighty degrees today, so I was also in the mood for a glass of sauvignon blanc. I managed to get both of my desires fulfilled since there were seats open at the bar, so that was nice. Then I came home and procrastinated for an hour, but eventually I forced myself to take care of some tings.

I'm driving to Iowa this weekend and I'd like to leave after work on Friday, but that means my car needs to be loaded on Thursday, and that feels like an onerous task since I have v. late work tings going on tomorrow and Thursday. But I packed my clothes and some books and some other stuff tonight, so if I had to I could get out of here pretty quickly. It would be better if I could load my car full of stuff that needs to go to Iowa, but I think I would rather get on the road than try to maximize cargo space.

Then, I had to do a bit of day job work, and now I need to go to sleep so I can do this again tomorrow (with less alone time in the evening) - goodnight!

like the city can't hold us

I have nothing to blog about tonight - work was busy and also boring, and that combo somehow made me v. tired. And I need to get up and go to the office tomorrow, so I should really go to bed rather than trying to come up with a way to jazz up this blog post. Goodnight!

we're running with the shadows of the night

I had a much better day today, probably because there was no time for the Sunday Scaries to sneak in. I slept until nine, then messed around my house, trimmed my bangs, showered, etc. And then I drove south to hang out with Aunt Becky for a few hours. In the beforetimes, Easter was a holiday we typically celebrated at Uncle Mark and Aunt Kathy's, but since neither Aunt B nor I were in Iowa this weekend, we had lunch instead. We hung out in the kitchen for a few hours and caught up on many things, and Uncle B grilled the hamburgers that Aunt B had prepped, and it was all quite tasty.

Eventually, I drove home, and I talked to [censored] most of the way. Then, I talked to my parents for almost an hour and a half - I was actually supposed to be in Iowa this weekend, but life (aka work) got in the way, and I'm not going until next weekend. And then, I quickly got ready and met Katie at the Alamo Drafthouse - we finally saw 'The Lost City', which is basically required watching in Romancelandia. I thought it was excellent - it upheld/played with romance tropes really well, and Channing Tatum and Sandra Bullock are a delight. Also, Daniel Radcliffe excels at acting crazy. And since this was my first movie-going experience in over two years, doing it at Alamo (where I can get a gluten free pizza and a glass of wine delivered to my seat during the move) was an especially nice way to do it.

Sadly, the fun times had to end after the movie was over, so Katie and I parted ways. And now I need to go to sleep so that I can get some work done tomorrow - goodnight!

glaciers

I was incredibly lazy today - so lazy that I never really got dressed (although I did put on sweatpants and a different shirt than what I slept in, so maybe that counts). But I did do two loads of laundry, and I paid my taxes, and I spent quite a bit of time purging my pantry and fridge of the many tings that have expired over the past year when I was in Iowa a lot and not cooking much here. So, those efforts were all worthwhile endeavors, even if some of my day was too sloth-filled for what I had planned.

And now I should probably force myself to go to bed - part of the problem today was that I managed to get less than six hours of sleep last night despite having no reason for such an abbreviated schedule, and I don't want to be quite so tired tomorrow. Goodnight!

killing your idols is a chore

I went into the Boulder office today, even though I technically didn't have to - but I do like free breakfast, and more importantly I had a package waiting for me that arrived after I left yesterday. The office was pretty dead, but I saw a couple of people and got some work done, so I'll take it.

I did sneak out after lunch to drive home without traffic, and I did a bit more work when I got here. Then, Morganne and EZ came over - we all work together, and Morganne and I also worked together back in 2008, so it was fun to host them for happy hour. After they left, I should have done something productive, but I did literally nothing other than lounge on my chaise and mess around on my phone. After the week I've had I have no regrets about that, but hopefully I can be slightly less sloth-filled tomorrow.

And now I need to sleep and not allow the revenge bedtime procrastination to ruin my night/weekend - goodnight!

echoes in the dark

Today was marginally less exhausting than yesterday - it helped that when I stumbled downstairs to make coffee, I checked my phone and found that my 9am meeting was canceled, which saved my life. That gave me time to get ready in a more leisurely fashion and still get to the office in time to eat breakfast before my first meeting of the day.

Then I slogged all day, but it was not terrible - I didn't have many meetings, so I actually answered a lot of email that had piled up. And I snuck out around three to drive home before my four o'clock meeting so that I wouldn't be caught in rush hour traffic. I did that meeting, then did a bit more work, and then I picked up Katie for a girls' night out. We haven't seen each other in ages because Katie has had a non-covid plague, so we went to Ash'kara and caught up for a couple of hours. We had many tings to discuss, which we continued discussing after leaving the restaurant - and hopefully we'll see each other again this weekend, because we still aren't caught up.

But now, I really need to sleep so I can get through another slog tomorrow - goodnight!

speed of light

No blog tonight - I feel like this was the most I've worked since the pandemics started, which probably isn't true but feels true because of the commute + meetings all day + a happy hour after + a quick break before working for another three hours. Ugh. Tomorrow should be better, but right now it's time for bed!

shut off the lights

No blog tonight - it is still true that if I go into the office, I'm completely exhausted. And it doesn't help that in the office I talk to people, and so I have to work from home at night to try to catch up. But at least I had hash browns this morning, so that I guess is worth trading my freedom for?

And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

if I could melt your heart

I worked from home today, which meant extra pajama time this morning. Or, alternatively, today was the normal amount of pajama time and tomorrow is abbreviated. Either way, it was good - work was stressing me out, but I got a lot done, so I guess I'll take it.

I skipped out at five to get a manicure, and then I came home and cracked open a too-nice-for-a-monday Pinot noir that was quite delightful (I wasn't sure it had been kept at the proper temperature and so had never wanted to share it with someone, but it turns out it was great). I also ate leftover salmon, vegged for a bit, and then did a last little bit of tax stuff for my CPA. And then I worked for forty-five minutes. And now I've got the lights dimmed and am trying to unwind before bed, but we'll see how that goes. Goodnight!

i ain't even trippin, i'm not slippin, i just come on back for more

I had a v. nice day, all in all. I got almost nine hours of sleep, which was v. restorative. Then, I made some coffee and wrote for an hour - the ideas that I'm coming up with feel pretty good right now, and I'm guessing they've been percolating beneath the surface even though it feels like I haven't been doing anything writing-related recently.

Eventually, I ate an early lunch and got dressed. Then, I caught up with Terry - we hadn't talked since her wedding, so we chatted for awhile and talked about life and career and all that stuff. I also talked to [censored] for one of our usual quick (aka thirty minute) convos. Then, I ran a couple of errands, including picking up paint chips for the next phase of decorating schemes at my Iowa house + getting a few groceries.

Then I came home, ate some popcorn, and talked to my parents for quite awhile. I was supposed to go home next weekend, but the day job is cramping my style, so I'm pushing it off for a week (but will then be in Iowa for two weeks, which I'm hoping I can use to paint my office and possibly my bedroom if I get super ambitious). So, we caught up for awhile, and while I was talking to my dad I put some sweet potatoes in the oven to roast. After we hung up, I roasted some salmon - it's pretty much the easiest thing I make, and it's delicious every time. I also made some special butter with maple syrup / chipotles / orange zest (easy - just mix it all in the stand mixer for a couple of minutes, along with salt and pepper) - it really tastes great with sweet potatoes. So, supper was easy and also delicious, and my kitchen was cleaned up in a snap.

Eventually, I did a bit of day job work because I had to, and then spent the rest of the evening organizing myself. And now I should go to bed so I can get up at an early hour and still feel reasonably rested - wish me luck with that. Goodnight!

and you think that you never really tried...open your heart, open your mind

I got several things done that I intended to get done today - probably not as much productivity or relaxing as I had intended, but it was all good. I messed around in the morning and did some planning/cleaning, and I also poached an egg to put on last night's leftover potato/chorizo/cheese goodness, which was pretty terrific. And I spent the afternoon cleaning my garage and doing some yardwork - I had a bunch of stuff in the garage that needed to be tossed or recycled, and the floor was desperately in need of sweeping. I also cut the suckers growing up from my backyard trees, which was a good task to get done when it was 75 degrees out today (since Colorado is still more than capable of snowing in the next two months).

Eventually, I folded laundry, took a break, took a shower, and ordered takeout Thai food. Then I spent the rest of the evening procrastinating a bit before doing some writing - I haven't been able to write much the last few weeks, but when I got back into it tonight I had some awesome ideas, so that was pretty exciting. And now I need to go to bed earlier than I went to bed last night, even though my soul wants to stay awake until four a.m. - but my body knows I can't stay up late and hope to get anything done tomorrow. Goodnight!

if you live like that, you live with ghosts

I worked from home today, which saved my life - it has become deeply important to me that I can do a bit of work and drink a lot of coffee and stay in my pajamas until 30min before my first meeting, and this is obviously not possible when my commute is 45min and a shower/some makeup/actual pants are required on office days. Work was fine, all in all, but I was not particularly productive - by afternoon, the effects of the week were hitting me, and I mostly wanted to rest my eyes. So I got a bit more done, but I also talked to Katie (we have not caught up in ages as she's been super sick) and also to James (her husband, whom I also have not caught up with in ages).

Eventually, when it was marginally respectable to end the day, I ran a few errands, picked up some groceries, and got food to make tonight. I was going to make risotto and cook some scallops to go along with it, but the scallops at the fish market were $66/lb, which was exorbitant enough to make me think twice. So instead, I went across to my favorite little cheese shop and got some chorizo sausages so that I could try a Barefoot Contessa recipe instead. The recipe was for 'baked raclette', and it involved boiling and slicing fingerling potatoes, sauteeing the chorizo sausages, mixing the potatoes/sausages with some salt/pepper/thyme/white wine, and splitting the stuff across four individual baking dishes. Then, you cover the potato/sausage mix with slices of raclette cheese and bake for ten minutes so the cheese gets all melty and bubbly. All in all, it was excellent - it obviously wasn't what I had planned to have, but for a pivot it was v. welcome.

Then I spent the evening mostly procrastinating / half napping, and I should have gone to bed hours ago but it's suddenly after midnight. Goodnight!

is someone getting the best of you

I'm insanely tired from going into the office three days this week - how did I do it before? I had a meeting with my new boss at nine, so I had to get up early and get out the door, but I made it into the office in time to have breakfast (the one good thing about going to the office). Then I had several high pressure meetings / presentations (which went well), followed by several less pressured meetings. I snuck out around 2:30 and drove home during a break so that I wouldn't have to deal with traffic, and then I worked the rest of the day. And then I ordered takeout Mexican and did nothing the rest of the night, which is what I needed.

But now I really need to sleep - goodnight!

that's the thing, it lingers and claws you when you're down

I'm too tired to blog tonight - I didn't get enough sleep last night, thanks to revenge bedtime procrastination + needing to get up early for work. I took an 8am meeting from my house, then drove to Boulder, where I slogged all day. I had a nice lunch with some teammates, but then I stayed at the office until almost 6:30 so that I could finish some stuff and not have to work when I got home.

Eventually, I did make it home, and at least it was still daylight out when I arrived. I reheated some leftover pasta, poured a glass of wine, and attempted to veg out, but I am not good at vegging when I have tings going on. Still, I'm tired enough to know that further attempts to veg and/or procrastinate will not help, so I need to go to bed asap. Goodnight!

wake me up inside

Today was my first official day back in the office, and the commute was rather unwelcome - but it was nice to have a lot of random food and also run into random people. When I came home, I talked to [censored], then did some stuff around the house, ate leftover pasta, did more house stuff, and then worked for the last three hours. Getting a new boss always causes chaos, and this time is no different (although I think he's good, so at least it doesn't feel wasted).

But on that boring note, I need to wind down and go to bed - goodnight!

you gotta get with my friends

I am revenge bedtime procrastinating (aka staying up too late even though I'm tired because I don't want to go to bed and then have to get up tomorrow). Today was fine - I should have gone into the office, but I decided to go back tomorrow (technically I'm only supposed to go in three days a week). So that gave me some time to get some work done, but I had to order a sandwich for lunch rather than getting free lunch at work.

When I eventually called it quits for the day, I spent some quality time in the kitchen - I made spaghetti all' amatriciana, which is one of my favorite weeknight meals since it's just spaghetti, bacon, red onion, red pepper flakes, garlic, and oil. Simple, tasty, easy, and definitely worth making. Then I messed around the house and took care of tings. And then I realized that the Kansas / UNC game was way closer than when I had checked the score at halftime, so I watched the last couple of minutes of that, begrudgingly cheered for Kansas due to their Big12 status (but secretly was enamored with UNC's head coach), and then watched the postgame report. I didn't watch nearly as much basketball this year as I would have liked, but that's the way it goes.

And now I need to stop procrastinating and go to bed - goodnight!

blow a kiss, fire a gun

[editor's note: I started writing this last night but crashed before finishing - the wedding was great though!]

I had a fantastic day on the California coast, and I am not at all ready for this to end. It didn't start off fantastic, since I woke up at four and couldn't really sleep after that, but it could have been worse. Eventually, I gave up on sleep and threw on some clothes so I could go to Starbucks. That took all my ambition for the day, but it resulted in caffeine, so I guess I'll take it.

Eventually, I had breakfast with Grace (a delight, since I missed her when I was in SF three weeks ago), and then we went to CVS, which was basically as exciting as anything else post-pandemic since I don't actually think I've been shopping with a non family member in two years (wild). Then I took a nap before hanging out at the pool with V/Adam/Grace/Brian and eating some tasty Vietnamese takeout from the shopping center next door.

The wedding itself was absolutely beautiful, and it was perfectly planned. Kristen looked fantastic, and I can't wait to see the life they build together. [editor's note - this is where I fell asleep last night]

So, more on the wedding - the ceremony was really lovely, and the setting was perfect. The venue felt like a perfectly curated woodland fantasy, with lots of nooks and crannies, and the venue staff clearly knew what they were doing. I hung out with my writer friends + Kelly and Jackson (the only other people there from our formerly-mutual workplace), and I definitely took advantage of the buffet, the dessert bar, the late night french fries, and the various tasty wines.

Eventually, though, it was time to take off, so I came back to the hotel with Veronica and Adam, and then promptly crashed. And now I'm having breakfast before heading to SFO so I can get back to Denver tonight - wish me luck!

doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city

I had a gorgeous day and I am delighted that the fun times will continue tomorrow - two weddings in three weeks is a lot, but also exactly what I want. I had a v leisurely morning, which meant sleeping in and having breakfast at my hotel while journaling (my fave). Eventually, Veronica and Adam picked me up and we drove to Carmel together. We stopped for a late lunch in Moss Landing, where I had some v tasty Cajun fish tacos. Then, we got to Carmel and to our hotel; my room was ready before theirs, and I shamelessly took the opportunity for a nap before getting ready.

Tonight's festivities were a welcome dinner at the wedding venue, which was gorgeous. I'm really excited for tomorrow night because the venue is clearly amazing... but tonight was also a great time. We got there around five and met up with Christie and her husband, as well as Barbara (obviously, since she's the mother of the bride), and had a great time chilling before dinner. Dinner consisted of pizzas made in a bona fide pizza oven; Kristen, having traveled with me for multiple events in the past, made sure that there was gluten-free pizza, which was a total delight. I think that I would have been invited on my own recognizance since I'm friends with Kristen, but being friends with her mom was probably an additional point in my favor.

So, we hung out and it was super fun; eventually, Grace and Brian got there after fighting much traffic, and it was great to see them. Kristen and I also got an extended catch up, which was an honor given that I'm sure I won't get as much time with her tomorrow. Eventually, we had to vacate, so I rode to the hotel with Veronica and Adam, and I got back just in time to catch last call at the hotel bar with Kelly and Jackson. Kelly is the only former coworker here this weekend, and we had much to catch up on, so we took our drinks back to their room and talked for awhile.

And now, I must sleep so that I can do fun things tomorrow - goodnight!

take me down to paradise city

No blog tonight, but I'm safely ensconced in a hotel near the SFO airport waiting for, tomorrow's plans. I worked all day (with a break for lunch and a break to exchange items to Aunt B, who arrived bearing an iron. Then I went to the airport, slogged over a steak, and had a nice flight to the city of sin.

But now I must sleep -goodnight!